Contagious
by Vehyn Fyre
Summary: "We are outnumbered... The virus has completely devastated one of the world's major regions and is spreading rapidly." Once safe, Naru and Lin realise the severity of their decision to search for the team as they move on through Tokyo, learning about how everything changed, with their lives at stake. NaruMai
1. Alive and Awake

**Contagious**

**Chapter 1: **_Alive and Awake (_**Written By Shadow of Malice)**

**Disclaimer: **_We do not own Ghost Hunt. Sadly._

**SOM: **_This is a collab fic between sisters 'cause we can. Shadow of Malice (Author of Cases of a Different Kind and Prank Wars) and Foreign Nebula (Author of Nightmare in Shibuya) present to you this fic in which was born of boredom, music and Dead Island... Perhaps some Resident Evil. We're not sure. So please enjoy! The next chapter will be written by Foreign Nebula. I'll make sure you don't wait long!_

**Foreign Nebula**:_ Also, if by any chance you have a song called 'Contagious' by a band called Searchlight, it was the main inspiration for the fic._

_**Summary:**_ "Naru..." She whispered, trying to put her thoughts together when she realised the situation they had gotten into by coming back to Tokyo. "What the hell are you doing here? You were safe in England!"

_xXxXx __**Chapter 1: Alive And Awake **__xXxXx_

_It happened suddenly... Warnings sounded ... but the warnings, no one heard..._

_In the span of a day, Japans population had begun to drop. Within a week, all communications with Tokyo ceased... both military and civilian. After a month, more than half of the city's population was dead... Or were they?_

_XxX_

Her feet beat against the cracked concrete of the broken alleyway. The flicker of damaged electrical wires made the shadows of the deformed figures chasing her, seem all the more menacing.

'_Just to the main street_,' she thought.

The groans became louder_. _The ragged, gurgled breathes of the ones following her filled the air with the stench of rot. It made her gag but she kept going, even when her lungs burned and her side sent pain through her body. She broke from between the two buildings, narrowly avoiding the bloody hand that clawed at her tattered white shirt. She continued running, never turning back to check for her pursuers for fear it would be the last thing she did.

Before she knew it, she was bounding up a familiar set of steps and slamming the office door shut behind her. She leant against it, the cool wood chilling her heated skin. Her weapon clattered to the floor with a dull thud as she caught her breath, side throbbing. It was only when she calmed down that she heard the shuffling... from inside the office.

Her eyes snapped open and she tensed, crouching to the floor while wrapping her hand around the hilt of her katana. With practised ease she crept across the room, the gold CEO plate on the door reflecting the body of the other person. It was only when the shadow loomed by the doorway that she sprung into action. She jumped up, slamming the hilt of her sword into the persons shoulder and watching them crumble to the ground.

"Who are you?" She hissed, fisting her free hand in their collar and pulling them into the main room, dust rising as the person resisted. "Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" They yelled, voice deep, telling Mai they were male. He rubbed his shoulder and gazed up at her, eyes growing wide with recognition.

"Oli-!" Someone else walked into the room and froze at the sight of a sword wielding woman standing over his charge. Despite not having seen him for several years, the woman instantly realised who he was, even despite the slightly rumpled attire and stubble on his chin.

"Lin?" She asked, voice filled with surprise as her grip on her katana slackened, "Then... No way..." she breathed.

She turned to look at the man she had assaulted and her eyes grew wide. Familiar black hair was almost blue in the afternoon light, and his pale skin reminded her of winter snow. It was only when she looked into the deep blue of his eyes that she snapped out of her shock.

"Naru..." She whispered, trying to put her thoughts together when she realised the situation they had gotten into by coming back to Tokyo. "What the hell are you doing here? You were safe in England!"

It was only then that they took in her appearance. Her brunette hair had come loose from her bun and stray strands framed her face. Pale skin was splattered with blood and her white dress shirt was torn, burnt and soaked with blood; whether it was hers or not, they couldn't tell. Her black pencil skirt was torn to mid thigh and had slits running up the sides, making it easier for her to move around. Her ankle boots and legs were also covered in blood and flesh still clung to the steel of her katana.

"Mai..." Naru started, grasping for words through his shock, "What... happened?"

She sent him a sharp glare before moving to the door, quietly motioning for them to follow. With a caution they'd never seen, she pulled the door open slightly so they could peek out... and they couldn't believe their eyes.

A small group of deformed humans shuffled across the street below. Skin and blood dropped to the pavement in their wake, only adding to the grotesque sight of the monsters. Just as one began to turn towards them, Mai shut the door and pulled the men away from it before shoving a table infront of it.

"What was that?" Lin asked, his hand quickly loosening his tie from around his neck.

Mai sighed, suddenly looking much older then she should have before gathering pillows in the far corner of the room and telling them to sit. Once that was done, she dashed into the kitchen (not without difficulty), and walked back out carrying a cardboard box. After setting it down, she sat with a hiss, hand clutching her bloody side.

"Mai?" Naru asked, hesitating only slightly before moving to sit next to her. "Are you okay?"

His answer came in the form of a grunt as she jerked her clenched hand, wrapped firmly around the edge of her shirt, upwards. An angry mass of tangled and torn flesh met his gaze. Blood crusted the edge of the wound and pieces of her shirt hung from the jagged cut. It was Lin who reacted first.

"How did you get this?" Instantly, his caring instinct took over from his days with the team and began riffling through the box for supplies. Once his desired objects were obtained, he then proceeded to tend to the brunette as she began her explanation.

"I was looking for survivors when I was found by those _things_-" She hissed, trying to ignore the stabbing pain that flared through her torso. "I cut myself on some debris as I made my escape."

They lapsed into a tense silence as Lin finished bandaging the wound, each caught up in their own thoughts. When she could once again move freely, she rummaged through the box for food and water before setting it out between them. It was easy to see the strain Mai had put on herself when her bandages turned pink and she sighed when she leant back against the wall. It was Naru who broke the silence first.

"Mai... What happened while we were... away?" His question hung in the air before a gurgled scream made the three of them jump. It was only when they heard it a second time, louder then the first, that Mai located its origins...

Right outside the front door...

She jumped up, grabbing her katana in one hand and her side with the other. After instructing both men to find a weapon, she moved to the middle of the room as the groans were accompanied by heavy thumps against the heavy wooden door. She thanked Kami that she had boarded up the office. She felt only slightly reassured of their chances of survival when Naru and Lin took their places on either side of her. Naru held her katana sheath, one she had completely forgotten about within the confines of the office, while Lin held what looked suspiciously like the table leg of the coffee table in the kitchen. Pushing her thoughts aside, Mai tensed as the pounding grew in ferocity. She could have sworn that, if she had closed her eyes, the monsters could have been right next to her with how loud the groans had gotten.

"More will come at this rate." She voiced, thoughts swirling in her mind as she tried to come up with a plan.

"So what do we do?" The men chorused, eyes shifting between the brunette and the vibrating door.

"Well... We don't have much of a choice." She sighed. The table she had placed as a barricade tipped precariously with the combined forced vibrating through the door. It would last long. "Lin, I need you to grab the supplies and put them by the door. Stay there. Naru, I need you to pull the table away from the door... Otherwise, if they manage to get in... We'd be trapped by the others coming..."

They blinked at her.

"If we can get rid of those things directly infront of the door, it'll be easily to get down the stairs and avoid the mob that will most likely be on their way here. I have a car parked about half a block from here-" She was cut off by the table crashing into the ground, the legs being the only thing stopping the door from opening. "Now! Hurry up!"

Only a second after the men did as they were told, the door gave way. Zombies... Monsters composed of rotting flesh tumbled in, three falling to the ground along with the door. A group of about ten shuffled into the office and over their fellow dead. Teeth gnashing and hands clawing, they lunged towards the brunette. She lifted her sword and took the head off the head of the one closed to her before twisting the blade and decapitating two more as she moved towards the door. Naru smashed one of the zombies on the ground, easily causing the weak muscle of its neck to burst and splatter him with blood. Without hesitating, he jerked the end of the sheath up and sent the tip right through the chest of another monster. Lin, with the help of his shiki easily dealt with any zombie that came close to him.

The remaining dead seemed to hesitate and the trio used that advantage. With accuracy they didn't know they possessed, Naru and Lin swung their weapons at the zombies closest to them, causing them to knock into the one that had gone for Mai. With practised precision, the brunette decapitated them and ran outside.

With his shiki guarding him, Lin carried the supplies after her with Naru bringing up the rear. Just as Mai had said, the commotion they made had drawn the attention of more undead. They shuffled along the main street, out of broken buildings and from alleyways like a swarm of rats. They even managed to climb through open manholes. Wasting no time, the three of them ran down the street, smashing stray zombies in their way and skirting around inanimate obstacles. The challenge came when they got in the car.

The main road had turned into a swarming mass of disfigured once-humans. The Undeads gurgled groans, screams and sloshing steps echoing through the air and filling it with the stench of rot and decay as they grew closer to the car. Mai revved the engine praying under her breathe for it to start while Lin sent his shiki to deal with the closest zombies. With a sputter, the car roared to life and Mai sent Naru and Lin a quick warning to brace themselves. With the three of them squeezed into the front seat, Mai shifted.

"Things are about to get a little bumpy." She yelled over the cacophony of undead, her hands clenching the steering wheel.

Mai slammed the accelerator to the floor, jolting them as she sped forward. She barrelled through the mass if undead without batting a lash and turned the window wipers on only when she had cleared the majority of the horde. Once off the main street, she hoped to avoid running into another group of zombies. Luck however, was not on her side. Another mass stood idle in the middle of the road and it was only when she slowed that they turned to her. Like a hive mind, they screamed and ran towards the off-terrain vehicle as she once again pressed down on the accelerator. The first bounced off the hood and collided heavily with its undead buddies while a few met their fate at the rubber of her wheel. Another zombie lunged forward, its full weight colliding with the windshield, not only cracking it, but coating it in thick brown, coagulated blood. It was virtually impossible for her to see.

"Break the glass!" Naru yelled, grabbing what he could from the back seat and slamming it into the window. Lin and Mai followed suit and with their combined effort, they tried their best to make the safety glass break and when it finally gave way... their eyes grew wide. Mai turned the wheel sharply, narrowly avoiding the telephone pole and flying onto the side walk. She nearly locked the wheels when she tried to correct the car as it swerved dangerously close to the brick fence of an abandoned home. The mob of undead still pursued them and she struggled to gain control when Naru grabbed her hands, fingers cool against her clammy skin. Together, they managed to get back onto the road and sped down the cracked concrete before she slammed on the breaks.

"Hurry! Up the stairs!" Mai yelled, throwing open the door and rushing out, the zombies less than a block away. "Grab the stuff and go! We'll be safe once we're at the top!"

With Lin once again handling the supplies, they ran as fast as they could, the zombies gaining just as rapidly. When Mai, the last of the three to reach the top, stopped just beyond the Torii Gate*, Naru and Lin panicked and skidded to a halt. Their eyes grew wide with fear as they watched the first of the zombies stumbled to the top of the stairs.

"It's... okay. We're... safe..." She wheezed, crumpling to the ground. The men watched with growing anxiety as the undead drew closer to the tired brunette... Only to be shocked by what they saw.

Upon reaching the Torii Gate, the zombies froze. Some which thought the trio to be easy prey literally bounced off the invisible barrier and tumbled back down the stairs, some taking others on the trip down. The more intelligent zombies tried to go around the Torii Gate instead, only to be met with the same fate.

"Mai!" The trio turned to see a familiar red head rush from the front of the temple towards them.

"Miss Matsuzaki?" Naru asked, helping Mai up and supporting her when her knees buckled.

"Yes. It's me. Now hurry up and get inside!" She huffed, hands fluttering over Mai's tired form despite the brunette's protests. "We have a lot to talk about..."

XxX

**Lalala. There you have the first chapter of **_Contagious. __**Dundundunnnnn~ **_**Anyway, hope you like the different kinda' Ghost Hunt Fic. Idea and editing by Foreign Nebula. Mass writing from Shadow of Malice with major guidance from her sister. :P Please leave a review, tell us what you think and we'll update as soon as we can!**


	2. Virus

**Contagious**

**Disclaimer:**_We do not own Ghost Hunt. Sadly._

**SOM:**_This is a collab fic between sisters 'cause we can. Shadow of Malice (Author of Cases of a Different Kind and Prank Wars and many other GH fics) and Foreign Nebula (Author of Nightmare in Shibuya) present to you this fic in which was born of boredom, music and Dead Island... Perhaps some Resident Evil. We're not sure. So please enjoy! Also, sorry for the delay in updating, my sister gave me the chapter when she couldn't overcome writers block and I had to put it off until after I graduated, which I now have! so here you go!_

**Foreign Nebula**:_Also, if by any chance you have a song called 'Contagious' by a band called Searchlight, it was the main inspiration for the fic._

_**Summary:**_ "Naru..." She whispered, trying to put her thoughts together when she realised the situation they had gotten into by coming back to Tokyo. "What the hell are you doing here? You were safe in England!"

_xXxXx__**Chapter 2: Virus**__xXxX_

_She was sinking..._

_The natural world shifting..._

_Changing..._

_A scene of horror; unbridled in its intensity, remained at the forefront of her mind. In her fall, her descent into an unwarranted madness in a world lost to what had become of what humanity had dwindled to..._

_Day after day, there was less and less people; To talk to. To save. To run with and survive. It was hopeless._

_How could things have changed so fast?_

_How... could the world ever be that same again?_

The temple was a veritable hive of activity as they stepped through the large red gates and into the inner courtyard. People scurried about with terror and grief etched onto their faces, while others huddled around bonfires as the afternoon light started to fade. Monks walked amongst the people, offering prayers and words of comfort.

For Mai, all she could see was the utter despair on the people's faces as she walked by them. Ayako had her arms wrapped firmly around her shoulders, the older woman's face devoid of any feeling. They both had learnt the hard way that this was life now. No matter how hard it was to understand it.

Naru and Lin brought up the rear, watching with barely hidden shock and horror in their eyes as they followed behind the two women. They saw the hungry looks some people shot their way as they noticed the supply box that Lin was carrying, but one stern look from the stoic man had them turning their heads away, fear settling on their faces once again.

As they walked, they took note of how large and crowded the courtyard was. There were many tents set up and as Naru glanced at them closely, he noticed that many were used with scrap material and other types of cloth.

"We had to use anything that we could get out hands on." Mai said, almost as if she was reading his mind. "Granted, this looks like a paradise compared to the first few weeks."

The almost blaze comment had Naru stopping in his tracks, his mind reminding him that Mai and Ayako and the rest of the people had suffered for weeks, if not months. He watched, blue eyes calculating as he saw Mai turn slightly, the ghost of a smile on her dirty, sweat-and-blood-streaked face. He started at her until Ayako started dragging her again, moving through the crowd of people that seemed to have come out from nowhere.

Struggling to catch up, Naru and Lin almost bumped into them as they stopped directly at the front of the crowd of people. Curious, Naru peered over Mai's shoulder.

And wished he hadn't.

XxX

Mai closed her eyes, trying in vain to block out the horrified screams. Her body shook with fatigue, but she couldn't rest yet. There was still so much to do. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down, she opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder to watch her ex-boss as he walked silently behind her and Ayako down the dark corridor to the inner sanctum of the temple.

Oliver Davis. Shibuya Kazuya. Noll. Naru.

Whatever name he went by now, Mai was absolutely certain of one thing: what he had just seen would be something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. True, his face was still devoid of any emotion, but his eyes belied the fact that he was still seeing the cruel horrors that she had quickly gotten used to on a daily basis. His tall frame was stiff, his fists clenched at his sides as he walked; she could even see the tick in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. Over the last few years, Naru had gotten only more handsome that when she had seen him last, but then again, at twenty-five, he was a fully grown man now.

Mai sucked in a breath suddenly when something touched the wound in her side. She snapped her head to glare at Ayako, ignoring the knowing look in the woman's eyes as she turned down another random corridor and stopped by a large glass-less window. "There's something you need to see." The older woman said, phrasing the statement to the men as she guided Mai to sit down on the bench beneath the window. She turned and faced her old co-workers, before motioning with her head towards window, indicating for them to look outside. She turned away from them just as they moved closer, her eyes clenching shut as recent horrors threatened to drag her down.

Naru and Lin both just stared, not understanding the miko for a split second before realisation dawned on them.

The entire skyline of Tokyo was before them in the distance. The setting sun to the west highlighted the once glorious city, but instead of showing them the beauty of the place they once called home, it revealed to the two men, scenes of what could only be described as being taken straight from an apocalyptic movie.

Fire burned the city from every angle, turning the skyline black-and-grey with haze. Smog filled with the scent of burnt flesh and rotten bodies permeated the air even through the temples natural barrier from the mindless hordes below.

Mai cringed as she remembered her first time wondering the dead infested streets after the initial outbreak.

~X-x-X~

_The silence was deafening. No more screaming people or panicked feet that stomped against the ground echoed through the streets. No car horns blaring at immovable traffic._

_An immovable trap. A trap that led many to their ends._

_The sight of the wreckage left behind made her stomach churn, her mind torn between being sick and surviving. When everything goes to hell, is there a point to going on? Mai wasn't sure, but she needed to find one of the others. At least one of her family._

_Each footstep seemed like a bomb, slowly ticking until it drew someone's attention... Or something's attention. Each breathe hurt and her body begged for rest, but she ignored it all. _

'_Go Mai! Don't give up!' He yelled in her head, cheering her on in the dire situation. At first she'd thought she was going insane with all the chaos until Gene made it clear that he had never actually left her._

_Mai jumped when the wind picked up, a sharp whistle that shattered the silence like a siren. Papers blew across the deserted road as if the city had been abandoned for years. But in truth... it had been less than a day. It was obvious that some people had found it necessary to loot during the mayhem; with most store windows smashed in and items strewn across the concrete like a teen house party gone wrong. But really, were material items that important in such a situation?_

_Mai scoffed as she passed a computer store, electricity having been cut off in the devastation of the outbreak. The empty wall, once composed of glass and metal_

'_Scrappppeee...'_

_She froze, muscles tensing as her hand tightened on the broken chair leg clenched in her hands. Something dragged against the floor within the darkness of the store. A sharp sound that sent chills downs her sweat covered spine. She squinted as best she could into the shadows, subconsciously leaning forward towards to shopfront and further onto the footpath in an effort to see the cause of the sound in such a desolate place._

_It bolted out of the darkness. Jaw half gone and arms clawing. It lunged for her without hesitation, eyes white and flesh rent from its body. Blood sprayed as it screamed at her, a gurgled sound that had Mai not been so frightened she would have been sick. It was only luck that Mai lifted her make-shift weapon in time. It landed awkwardly on the spiked end, the back of its skull flying out as grey mush fell to the ground in sickening 'splunk's.'_

_Shaken into silence, any frightened sound she would have made was made mute as she backed away, staggered steps made uncertain in her panicked state. Not only was she confused... Terrified of the situation, she was all alone. Weapon-less and lost within the city of Tokyo. _

_~X-x-X~_

"Mai." A voice called to the brunette, drawing her from her dazed recollection. With glazed eyes, she met Ayako's worried gaze.

"Yes?" The word its-self carried how shaken the young woman still was over the past and a gentle sigh left the red heads lips. With a tender touch, the doctor touched her daughter figure, motherly instincts kicking in when Mai flinched. Almost instantly, Ayako narrowed in on the fresh wound and quickly dragged the brunette down the broken hallway, weaving in the decking and debris having been pushed to the side early on in the locations finding. Naru and Lin followed behind them, their steps hurried in an effort to not get lost as the red head led them down winding corridors and then down a flight of stairs.

They stood in complete darkness, a feeling that didn't chill them like it would have would they have been anywhere else but the temple. A small 'click' rang out and battery operated lights, while dim, turned on and lit the room. It looked as though the occupants had left in a hurry, shelves having been knocked over and pushed aside, broken tins of food tossed about and torn sheets strewn in the back corner of the temple store room. It seemed to have been converted into a medical room with crates laid against the far wall with multiple boxes filled with equipment and supplies on top. A few futons were spread out too. Roughly ten with four of them filled.

Naru was shocked at the sight of the worst of the patients. A young girl, no older than six, was writhing in her sheets, coated in a thick layer of sweat with half her face bandaged. He watched as Mai frowned at the poor child before she was tugged to the end of the room. He forced himself to look away and followed the brunette even though his mind urged him to do something, _anything, _for the little girl. His attention was drawn to the older pair he'd followed as Ayako started ranting at the nonchalant brunette.

"Jeez Mai. What did I tell you about being careful. We can't afford you getting an infection at a time like this. Not to mention even if you don't get sick, you'll still be slowed down." Ayako yelled, rummaging through box after box before a sound of satisfaction echoed from her. "No lift your shirt so I can take a good look at you."

"If you say so Ayako." Mai responded, not caring that the two males she hadn't seen for years were right beside her or not. Even if she wasn't so exhausted that she might collapse, she wouldn't have cared. The white fabric, blood soaked and tattered, was pulled from her tanned skin and discarded in seconds, the only thing keeping her descent was a worn bra, one of the straps missing and the other stitched in multiple places to keep it together.

Not even Naru could keep the heat from his cheeks as he watched the finely toned muscles of Mai's back tense while Ayako tended the wound. It wasn't long until Ayako ushered Mai to change in the next room, blocked only by a sheet hung that from the ceiling. The pastel pink contrasting with the dull grey of the concrete room. When Mai returned, a black corset style top, with attached off shoulder white sleeves adorned her torso while black short shorts, a looped utility belt and knee high converse covered her lower body. Each piece of clothing was worn, holes littering the material and small specks of blood covered random spots on the white sleeves.

"where'd you get that?" Ayako asked, looking over the young woman that looked ready to kill anything that wasn't human.

"I picked up a few things last time I was out. I couldn't run around in my work clothes all the time." Mai retorted, taking a seat beside her mother figure while Lin and Naru took a seat on the futon closest to them. "But a better question to ask would have been; "What are you two doing here?"

The harshness of Mai's tone caught the men off guard and the fierosity in her narrowed eyes made them curious as to the cause of her anger. It was Lin however, that found the courage to talk first.

"In all honestly, when we heard that Tokyo was a no go zone, Noll and I got worried. It wasn't the smartest move, but even a genius can make stupid moves in a chess match. I had to watch out for him." Naru gave an indignant huff at his guardians comment, but any come back was cut short by Ayako's outraged shouting.

"This isn't some game! You can't take the time to think about your moves or start again!" Her face was red and taught with worry as she gazed wide eyed at the two men before her. Hysteria made the fresh tears in her eyes fall in rapid succession as she choked out the rest of her sentence. "It's not like we can just go looking for those we care for and just turn back without any results. Life isn't something you can toy with! And now you're in this with your lives at stake! How can you just sit there and not care?"

Her voice echoed as she trailed off, everything except her heavy breathing breaking the tense silence that ensued. The situation still didn't hit the males as they blinked at the crying red head being consoled by the brunette.

"What... do you mean? We got in. Surely we can get out again too?" The uncertainty in Naru's voice gave away how his thoughts had misguided him and led him into an irreversible blunder.

"If that was possible... we would have left when the outbreak first happened... _Three months ago." _Mai hissed, glaring at the dark haired male she had crushed on as a teenager.

"Mai..."He whispered before he strengthened his resolve to know the truth. "What happened here? What happened since Lin and I left?"

"What happened? The world died... And was reborn..." She paused, turning to look at the other patients in the room, "As a _living hell_."

It was then that Naru recalled the sight in the courtyard of the temple. A sight that would forever be burnt into his mind and haunt his every waking moment.

_Struggling to catch up, Naru and Lin almost bumped into them as they stopped directly at the front of the crowd of people. Curious, Naru peered over Mai's shoulder._

_And wished he hadn't._

_For within the crowd that surrounded it, a large, deep hole in the ground with a pole entrenched in the middle of it were people. Many of which cried out in distress as those above watched on in sombre fascination. Those that had escaped their bonds that tied them in some way or form the centre pole clawed at the walls that gave way under them as they tried to climb out of the pit._

_They would have seemed like normal people like those that watched from around the edge of the pit with fine wiring over the top had it not been for the sickly similarities for those tied up. Each had what seemed to be teeth marks all over their bodies. Blood dried and crusted over what should have been excruciatingly painful wounds didn't deter those below to try escape. The sickly pallor of the captured and the hollowed features enforced the idea that they were there for the safety of those still uninjured._

"_It won't be long now..." _

_He heard someone whisper and not a few seconds later one of the sick trying to climb out froze before he dropped to the ground. There was only silence as the crowd waited for the oncoming mayhem and horror. But no matter how horrible it was going to be or how many times they'd had to watch the same thing again and again, they couldn't stop the inevitable. Or stop the human curiosity that barred them from turning away._

_And then he heard it... The gargled sound of the undead back at the office when they had finally reunited with Mai. The man that had frozen arched backwards in an incomprehensibly flexible way. Spine twisted to the air while its head snapped back. It took a split second for those within the pit to have panic sweep over them as they screamed, trying in vain to flee from their impending doom. _

_The re-dead jumped up, body twisted in awkward directions before it lunged. Claws ripping into the closest person as blood sprayed. Cries of pain and fear ensued and it took everything Naru had to turn away and keep walking._

_The cries of pain and sheer indescribable fright echoing in his wake._

_~X-x-X~_

_**And that's that folks! Sorry for the extremely late update but, hey. I have now officially graduated from my schooling and after 13 years of studying I've never been happier. Or had so much time on my hands. So I'm glad to say I now have more time for writing. Foreign Nebula passed this chapter to me so I could write it considering she was really busy so I hope you enjoyed it. How Lin and Naru got into Tokyo WILL be explained, just please bare with me at the moment. Also, if you like One Piece, check out a fic called 'Swimming for Straw Hats' by UndeniablyAttractive. **_

_**I'd also like to thank those that reviewed: **_

_**Dementra**_

_**yza25**_

_BakaHelen (anonymous)_

_**Little-bad-Angel**_

_**Moons-Chan**_

_**thearistocrat**_

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_Tbonechick2011 (anonymous)_

_**xX May Taniyama Xx**_

_**Guild Hunter **_

_**Jade Starlight**_

_**Lost Location**_

_**Lici910**_

_**Jaz-147**_

_**PhoenixNimbus.292**_

_**And a major thank you to my fans that have put up with my irregular updates and those that also follow my others fics. Thank you so much for sticking by me. Ja ne~**_


	3. Outbreak

**Contagious**

**Disclaimer**: We do not own Ghost Hunt. Sadly. Or the beginning quote. Some swearing in the chapter too.

**SOM:** This is a collab fic between sisters 'cause we can. Shadow of Malice (Author of Cases of a Different Kind and Prank Wars and many other GH fics) and Foreign Nebula (Author of Nightmare in Shibuya) present to you this fic in which was born of boredom, music and Dead Island... Perhaps some Resident Evil. We're not sure. So please enjoy!

**Foreign Nebula**: Also, if by any chance you have a song called 'Contagious' by a band called Searchlight, it was the main inspiration for the fic. Also. Sorry for any mistakes.

**Summary:** "Naru..." She whispered, trying to put her thoughts together when she realised the situation they had gotten into by coming back to Tokyo. "What the hell are you doing here? You were safe in England!"

xXxXx **Chapter 3: **Outbreak xXxX

_We are outnumbered..._  
><em>The virus has completely devastated one of the world's major regions and is spreading rapidly.<em>  
><em>At this point in time we know only one method of killing the creatures: destroy the brain.<em>  
><em>Beyond the guard of any loved ones who may have recently been in any sort of contact could be infected.<em>  
><em>And if you find yourself out in a threatening position, please do not hesitate to act.<em>  
><em>Again, this is not a test.<em>  
><em>This is not a joke.<em>  
><em>We, as a species, are overwhelmed.<em>  
><em>We are outnumbered!<em>  
><em>(Outnumbered (rearranged) by The Devil Wears Prada)<em>

**oOo**

"Now then..." Ayako started, glaring at the two men through teary eyes, "How did you to even get here?"

Silence permeated the air as the men traded glances, dark eyes unreadable while to the women as they waited. Before long, Mai gave in, the stress from her day and the pai from her wounds aggravating her to new heights. Not even Naru's pestering in the past had been as bad.

"Fine then. I'll tell you how we all got into this mess and then you have to tell us how the fuck you got here." Mai snapped, folding her arms over her chest and glaring him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before starting her story…

**oOo**

Her head felt like lead as she pried her chocolate brown eyes open. Bright light penetrated through the fog of sleep that clouded her brain. Wincing, a sharp siren penetrated her ears and she jerked upright when the voice of the intercom registered in her brain, washing away any traces of drowsiness that lingering in her body.

'**Please evacuate the building. Please take the nearest staircase to the ground floor and please leave the building.'**

She forced herself up and off the hard surface of her desk, staggering slightly as she pushed her shoulder length hair away from her face. A sharp sting from her arm drew her attention to a jagged cut that ran from her wrist to elbow, dry blood already crusted around the inflamed wound. It was then too, that she noticed that her blue singlet was missing from the bottom of her ribs and her jeans had tears all along the material. The only things still intact on her were her heeled boots on her feet.

"What the hell?" She whispered, gingerly touching her wound.

'**Please evacuate the building. Ple – zzz- take th- zzz- staircase - zzz!'**

The speakers' voice stopped with a sharp, high pitched keen that made her cover her ears inan attempt to block the painful sound.

"Damn it," She whispered, looking around the room. It was so similar... But so different. Couches were turned over and the television in the corner of the room showed only static. "Gotta get outta here."

Stumbling over the items strewn across the ground, she rummaged through the piles of paper for her bag. Once obtained, she looked for her phone and tried to call the only people she knew outside of the building.

'The number you are trying to reach is currentl-"

"What?" Her brows furrowed as she gazed at the glowing screen. Not only was the teachers' lounge a mess, but there were no other people around. The shutters were tightly shut and there was no noise from beyond the double doors that led outside. Staying calm, Mai took a deep breath and steadied herself. With a quick flick of her wrist, she flung her bag over her shoulder and walked to the doors, pressed as close to the cold wood as possible, she touched the handle, feeling with her spiritual energy for any other living beings beyond the room.

Sensing nothing, she slowly slid the door open, peeking her head through before stepping out. She slowly made her way through the hallway, papers and backpacks strewn across the glossy floor. It spiked her curiosity even though her gut was telling her to throw caution to the wind and run as far as she could from the school as possible.

A scream suddenly rent the air and it kicked her into overdrive, flying down the hallway and down a flight of stairs. A set of metal double doors seemed to just pop up and she barely managed to stop herself from ramming through them. With a quick look around, she grabbed the doors and pushed them open. The screams increased ten-fold, blasting her ear drums with the sound of pure torture.

The scene before her was something out of a horror movie.

Flesh was tugged and rent away from a young child's face with ruthless abandon. Carnivorous monsters, unrelenting in their hunger ate away at the flesh of the living as Mai looked on with growing horror. Mortification froze her in her place in the doorway as the scene sent her tumbling into a state of shock so deep, not even her nausea could pull her away.

Children, tattered and bloody, with chunks of flesh hanging from them, tore at those still living, ripping flesh and muscle from bones of students and teachers alike. They were so scared that unconsciousness was not merciful and their screams of terror and pain finally drew Mai back to the present.

With a quick look around, she found a broken chair leg close by and she picked it up. Breathe held, she raced towards the feasting monsters and, with tears in her eyes, raised her arms above her before delivering a shattering blow to one of the living girls, putting her out of her misery. The act of kindness overpowered Mai's fear of being in the middle of flesh eating beasts as the fragile skull collapsed on itself with shockingly graphic fragments of blood as it sprayed across the flesh covered tile ground. Chunks of bone and muscle , tangled with hair and cloth splatted out; across her face, clothes and skin. What should have been the child's brain, even pieces of, was just a pile of slug that dripped from the corpse.

A gurgled scream resonated in her ears and she spun around, the bloody chair leg whipping up at just the right second. It skewered through the once human mouth of a monster. It twitched before going limp, dragging her down with it as it gurgled before going silent.

"Oh god…" She whispered, thrashing under the dead weight in an attempt to get away as she heard the other creature draw closer to her prone form. Murky brown blood dribbled onto her shoulder before she managed to kick it off. Despair blinded her as she fought off nausea, "Why is this happening?"

She ran through the monsters that surrounded her in the cafeteria, not sure how or why she managed to get past them in one piece, she stared unblinking as she burst through a set of doors and into the school courtyard. Bloody bodies littered the ground, blood mingled with the once green grass.

The boom that came from the doors slamming against the walls echoed in her ears, screeching like a beacon in her mind that alerted every enemy in the area to her presence. All the monsters in front of her turned, almost in slow motion, some with still dripping flesh hanging from between their teeth as they looked at her, sizing her up and twisting around on broken limbs. Children and adults alike in size stumbled towards her faster than Mai though possible. She felt hard concrete dig into her side and she realised she'd cornered herself into the boundary wall that stood beside the entrance to protect the garden. Loud growls came from behind her too and she turned, eyes widening at the horde that was storming towards her. With a gasp, she leapt over the wall, landing in the thick surrounding bushes. Because of the foliage, the gargling was her only warning before a zombie grabbed her foot, clawing intoher ankle before she managed to kick it off. Her hand skimmed over something solid and she didn't think twice before she picked it up and swung it hard onto the monsters head, spraying more cold blood onto herself before she got up.

All around her were flesh eating monsters, each making their way towards her at hobbled paces. Her ears rang and she took a deep breath. If she went down, she'd go down swinging.  
>She rushed forward, her weapon, a thick stick, swinging in every direction. She ducked and dodged as best as she could, slowly covering herself in more and more wounds as she went. Her vison filled with dots and her hearing went. Nothing filled her head as she went through the motions.<p>

All she did was survive.

And then it all went blank.

**XxXxX**

The subway was a dark, cold and dangerous place. Fabric rustled and rats scattered as a large cloak dropped to the ground. The steam from machinery running deep within the tunnels made the already steamy day hotter and made the bodies hidden about fester and boil, releasing a foil stench that Mai had long since gotten used to. The heat hid her smell and kept the Walkers away.

For the time being.

"Damn it." She cursed, wiping her brow with the back of her hand, a dirty bandage made of rags barely clinging to her pale flesh. "Not long left."

She looked longingly into her bag, staring forlornly at her rations; half a tin of pineapples and a rotten banana. Her chances of survival were slim. For three and a half months she had survived alone in the tunnels, gathering only the bare necessities and resting minimally before moving on, not wanting to draw attention from the dead… or living.

Not again.

"_It's all clear!" A man called from a dark doorway, his head stuck out for only a second before decaying hands grabbed him, pulling him into the room and muffling his scream._

"_No! No! Give him back!" A woman ran from behind her, tears already streaming down her face as she threw herself into the unknown. Her screams joined his soon after._

"_No. No…" Was all the brunette could say, looking around her quickly and gathering what she could into her backpack. A tin of food and a fruit bar, along with a rotten banana._

"_Fuck!"_

_She took a quick look back at the room before running in the opposite direction, their screams etched into her brain._

It was so long since she'd seen people actual live in safety. She longed to just give up. But she had to be sure. She had to make sure that those close to her were either alive… or dead; with her own eyes.

Even if it cost her everything…

She made her way through the dark tunnels, not daring to turn on her torch in case she drew some unwanted attention. She could hear them, they were growing louder and their growlsdeeper. But she knew her way around.

Easily, she lifted herself onto the pipes along the ceiling, using old debris as a platform to lift her up. Her boots, tied with roped around her calf to stop them from slipping, sizzled from the head, instantly drying any water that she had on them. The heat clung to her skin and she was grateful for her choice of shorts and tank top. A scarf around her neck and mouth helped muffled her breathing and goggles atop her head were easy to bring down for when it was too bright to see without some kind of protection. Headlights were bright at night. And she learnt that the hard way.

Vanguards on her arms acted as a brace for her old wound, from the beginning of the outbreak as well as a barrier should the zombies attack her. Yes, she'd stolen, but it wasn't like anyone would care. Even the backpack on her back was stolen from a dead family who had been easily trapped during the initial evacuation of the city. Most of the walkers had left the city centre, going for where the people had run, towards the country side, in an effort to escape the outbreak and to get away from places they could be trapped in. Besides from the odd horde and the underground, most of the zombies had left Tokyo, leaving behind chaos and disorder. People easily turned to theft and murder to survive, and it made Mai's life hell. Too many times had bandits caught her, and too many times had she escaped by the skin of her teeth when walkers attacked to let her feel safe at all while she was moving about.

A light shone in her eyes and she pulled her goggles over her eyes, her long hair that refused to stay in her ponytail following her hand and tangling in the elastic around her eyes. With a frustrated sigh, she adjusted her hair and kept moving, easily finding her way to a ladder and up a man hole. The tight tunnel up was a familiar comfort, having gotten her out of many tight situations.

Once at the top, she scanned the area before hoisting herself over the lip of the tunnel, ducking behind a destroyed car to get a better look around. A few straggling walkers stumbled a block from Shibuya crossing, hanging around in case they got hungry and wanted to feast on the many bodies that littered the white lines on the streets, skid marks marring almost every body along the road that wasn't covered by a vehicle. With a deep breath, she bolted for a set of stairs beside a café, making the trip in less than seconds. The doorway she wanted was clear and she made in inside without a second thought.

No matter how many times she had been here, it had always been clear of walkers. Her sleeping mat was in the far corner, under the main window which she had already boarded up. The lounges were pushed against the walls and all the tables and bookshelves had been moved to other rooms to act as barricades should the office be overrun. She turned to look at the door, eyes empty as she scanned the faded letters, S.P.R. Light blood splatter could be seen from the light coming through the reinforced window, showing that there had been a struggle before she had gotten there.

And that meant trouble.

With a look at her sleeping area, she looked at a box beside it and she sat beside it, gathering a fresh bottle of water from it and making a meal of the last of her pineapple.

"Happy Birthday Mai. Have a great twenty-fourth." She laughed to herself as she ate the last of her food, downing her water easily along with it. Her stomach rumbled for more as she made herself comfortable in her makeshift cot, back pressed comfortably into the corner as she hugged her pack. A pistol and knife nestled safely inside. 'A nap couldn't' hurt.' Was all she thought before falling into a slumber…

_A temple loomed before her, her breathe coming in pants as she turned halfway up the stairs. The pistol shook in her hand as she took aim, taking down three of the closest monsters before she continued her sprint. Mentally, she counted that she only had seven more bullets in her clip before she took aim again, but before she could shoot, she was tackled from the surrounding bushes. Bullet flew and she struggled to keep the zombie away from her. _

_Its foul breath filled her nostrils and she took aim. _

_Only for a horrifying 'click' to ring out._

_She had no more bullets…_

She shot up, panting after her vision as she staggered up. She only had visions when she was in danger, which meant she had to move. There was no point in her backpack and she threw it down, tucking her pistol into her belt and the knife into her boot. With a quick look around, she glanced out of a crack in the boards on the window and saw just what she feared; a horde.

They stumbled along the back of the building, almost as if they knew she was inside at this time of night.

She didn't think twice before she ran out of the office, leaving the safety of the building and running to a vehicle in the street that was relatively free of obstacles. With a quick leap, she jumped over the hood of the car and wrenched the driver's door open. A dead body was in her way, the skull already bashed in. She threw it from the car and jumped in its place, slamming the door harder than she would have liked. The keys were still in the ignition and she prayed to all the gods that the car still started. All she heard were grinding gears before the sound of growling filled the air.

Zombies were pouring from around the café building and she turned the key again. Closer still and the car still hadn't started. A cold sweat broke out on her brow as she watched them grow closer.

"Fuck you!" She yelled as she stomped the gas simultaneously. She turned the key harshly and the engine roared to life, taking off down the street with a growl of its own, easily drowning out all the flesh eaters. It shook as she ran over crawlers and dead bodies, threatening to tip her if too much debris got under it. "Well shit. Guess we have to be careful."

She made her way down countless streets until the temple from her vision came into view. She pulled the break and cut the engine in unison before she jumped out of the car. The temple loomed in front of her as she ran up the steps, her breathe coming in pants as she turned halfway up the stairs. Every zombie in the area must have joined the horde as they raced after her.

They would be on her in seconds.

She pulled her pistol and took aim, taking down three of the closest monsters before she continued her sprint. Mentally, she counted that she only had seven more bullets in her clip before she took aim again, but before she could shoot, she was tackled from the surrounding bushes.

Bullets flew and she struggled to keep the zombie away from her.

Its foul breath filled her nostrils and she took aim.

Only for a horrifying 'click' to ring out.

Without blinking, she used the butt of the gun the bash in its head, temporarily throwing it off her. Her knife was in her hand in seconds and shoved into its skull before she was up and running, fresh blood dripping from her shoulder were the step had torn into her skin. She reached the top of the stairs just as one was about to grab her and it screeched, the smell of burning flesh filling the air as she collapsed, turning on her back to watch as the zombies each hit an invisible barrier and fell back.

A light came from behind her and she spun around, crouched with her knife poised incase someone attacked.

A woman with red hair, dressed in the typical priestess attire came out of the gloom, her shoes clacking against the stone walkway. Squinting, Mai started making out the woman's' features when the air rushed from her.

"A-Ayako!"

**XxXxX**

"And that's how I found her. She was covered in blood and wounds, her hair was wild and it looked like she hadn't eaten a meal in weeks!" Ayako yelled, wrapping her arm around Mai's shoulders.

"Yeah. Then Ayako told me I looked like a monster and that I couldn't be introduced to anyone till I was taken care of. Because she'd been here since the outbreak, she'd gathered survivors that had stumbled by and slowly made a survival colony. Men sometimes go out for supplies while others work on shelters, food… Fortifications. This is the safest place in Tokyo that we know of." The warmth in her eyes was quickly lost however when she turned to look at the, her van brace clanging against the ground as she hit her forearm into it. "Now it's your turn."

The men took one look at each other before Naru sighed. "It's certainly not as dangerous as you experienced, that is for sure. We heard about an outbreak of some kind of virus that affected Tokyo… A quarantine was set up to contain it and last we heard, Kyoto was the only other place to be contained. We took a private plane to Osaka before we drove here. There wasn't a single walker on the way here. But the chaos and destruction…"

"It is only visible once you are beyond the first few streets of the city. It seems as though the military tried to clean up before the containment. We abandoned our vehicle and found ourselves at the old office. We hadn't expected…" Lin trailed off, his throat closing as the threat became real.

"You hadn't expected to be walking to your deaths… Right? Yeah. We know. No one knew that our lives would be over so quickly. But it did. And we're screwed. And now you're screwed with us. I don't get it. You were safe! You were safe in England! SO why didn't you stay?" Mai yelled, straining as tears gathered in her eyes.

"We were worried. We had connections to people here, relationships we had built that we could not ignore. We were worried Mai. And we can get you out." His voice was firm as he said it, eyes set on the two women before him. "We still have the plane, and anyone outside Tokyo and Kyoto as still able to travel. We could-"

"I won't leave." Her statement shocked them, forcing her to continue. "We are in a war between us, and the dead. We don't have paperwork to leave Japan anyway. And on top of all that, until I know, with my own eyes, that the others are dead, I'm not leaving…"

XxXxX

**Sooooo. I'm sorry for the wait. I've been really sick the past few months and the doctors don't know why. So I'm trying my best to get it all out there and to you guys. I'd like to thank everyone for their support up until this point and give special acknowledgements to those of you that have reviewed:****  
><strong>

**Dementra****  
><strong>**cordelia25****  
><strong>**BakaHelen (anonymous)****  
><strong>**Little-bad-Angel****  
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><strong>**xX May Taniyama Xx****  
><strong>**Guild Hunter****  
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><strong>**Demon-Maid-Nova-Jigoku****  
><strong>**MissNovel****  
><strong>**Gemmagirl**

**Please keep it up. It really helps! :)**


	4. Where will you go

**Contagious**

**Disclaimer:**_We do not own Ghost Hunt. Review!_

**SOM:**_Oh My Goodness. I am so sorry for the delay. To sum it all up and not keep you waiting I have had, bad health, finished my study and gained my Certificate III in Children's' Services, injured my dominant hand in an accident and am recently unemployed. But, if you are a fan of my other stories, I have updated them ALL. So enjoy. And I am also having a Q & A as an apology. Ask in reviews, private messages, on my facebook page or group or just wait for answers. I answer anything, I'll help you if you need and I will post the question and answers on my Facebook group/ page and profile. And I'll personally reply to PM messages as well. Thank you!_

_**Summary:**_ "Naru..." She whispered, trying to put her thoughts together when she realised the situation they had gotten into by coming back to Tokyo. "What the hell are you doing here? You were safe in England!"

_xXxXx__**Chapter 4: Where Will You Go**____xXxX _

The song of the Undead rang through the broken streets as they walked along the hallway, every breathe they took echoing off the aged walls. It was truly amazing to Naru and Lin that Mother Nature could reclaim everything so quickly, but Mai just shrugged, shaking her head as she passed a broken window. The chaos of the city, still burning months after the initial outbreak, was a painful reminder just how fast the city was crumbling away to nothing.

Mai stopped suddenly, her hand flying up to her nose as if to ward off a bad smell. She motioned for them to go slowly as she walked into a side room and pointed to a far corner. The men looked and reeled back. A monster, disfigured and rotten sat eating in the corner, back facing them while the sounds of slurping echoing through the room.

She beckoned them through another doorway before closing the door quietly behind them, making sure not to alert the feasting zombie. It was a deserted concrete staircase, which Mai took the lead down, her hand at the ready to pull her sword in a seconds notice.

The walked down the aged concrete steps till the reach what they could only assume was the first floor, the sign by the door faded by time and covered in dirt and dried blood. She opened the door and ushered them through after a quick sweep through the room. If it could be called that. The whole exterior wall had been collapsed in and revealed the street outside. The roof of a bus jutted through the destroyed floor and they made their way through it, carefully picking a path between the large chucks of wall and debris.

"Come on. This way." Mai whispered, jumping onto the top of the bus, the once yellow vehicle providing a makeshift bridge to other vehicles that had wound up next to it over time.

"Mai?" Naru asked, walking carefully behind her, "Where are we going?"

The brunette stopped only for a second before pointing to a building across from the makeshift bridge.

"Isn't that a nightclub?" Lin was incredulous, recalling the exterior of the building despite the wear it had gone through.

"Yes, it is." She answered, with all seriousness as she pulled herself up onto an overturned bus, "We need more supplies and we haven't checked there yet. And if there's more survivors, the better."

There were no more questions as they scrambled over more vehicles before helping each other up onto the awning of the Nightclubs entry. Lin lifted a window open, having been jammed from disuse. Once open, they entered what seemed to be a dressing room, showers on one side and dressers, with broken mirrors, on the other. The smell of rot was strong, and upon a quick investigation, Naru discovered a newly decomposing body in a shower stall, hidden behind a stack of clothes and costumes.

"Dear God. Are we going to find any survivors?" In her rage and helplessness, she threw everything off one of the dressers, taking no pleasure in the crash of old perfume bottles and makeup containers. But it dissipated slightly when she noticed a piece of paper flutter to the ground. Lin was the one the leant down to read it out loud.

'_If anyone finds this, my name is Melissa. I came to get clothes and supplies for the others when the path back to my group was cut off by the undead. I didn't have a weapon, so I came back and hid in here. I locked myself in. I've been bitten._

_So please, if you find this note, help them. The supplies are in a pink duffle bag. The rest of my group are a storage room. Head through the loading dock. It's a bright red door in there. _

_Please, there's no one else…_

Mai's eyebrows furrowed before she moved to the door, a dirty pink duffle resting open on the floor. Blankets, food bars, water and clothes were splayed out all around. Naru was the one to bend down and stuff it all back in before heaving it over his shoulder. "Perhaps there are survivors here." He said, hoping to encourage her to keep going.

"Maybe. Now let's go. Monk used to perform here. Apparently there are a lot of signs telling you were to go. It's not too big, so it should be easy… Hopefully." She said, carefully opening the door and pulling her sword free of its sheath. The note said the girl was bitten, and the corpse was only a day or two old. So she wanted to be ready.

The chose to stay silent, Lin pulling up the rear with his shiki ready and a pole in his free hand. They crept through the corridor, following the signs to the ground floor. Lights still flickered from broken ceiling pockets, bulbs lit only by the last reserves of the clubs generator. Glass lay broken on the floor from glasses that smashed and the decorative fencing had been broken onto the dance floor. They flinched when it crunched under their feet as they made their way behind the darkened bar, collecting some alcohol to use as disinfectant before using their torched to find the door they needed.

A big, metal door, painted with the words 'LOADING BAY' stood just a little further down the bar. Lin carefully walked through them, observing the area before going to call them back. He was hallway back to the bar when he paused, his eyes focused at the other side of the room where a shadow shifted against the wall. Groan filled the air and Mai and Naru rushed to where the omnioji stood. Forcing their way through as more horrible moans filled the air. They'd disturbed what killed Melissa, and now they were after them.

Their torch light beamed dimly through the huge, dark bay. The slits in the truck gate barely lighting the area. The ran across the walkway, the red door within sight when arms started clawing up onto the parade way, more monsters struggling to get out of their slumber to get them and pull themselves up and into their way.

Mai swung her sword, dismembering arms before they could stop their charge. They got to the door in seconds and bashed on the red paint, yelling to be let in.

"Let us in. Hurry! She said you'd be here!" Mai yelled, turning suddenly and swinging her sword at an approaching monster. She took front, taking down any zombies that made their way up onto the boardwalk. Lin took to bashing away prying hands behind her while Lin kept hitting the door.

Faintly he heard the sound of something moving from inside and he couldn't even raise his hands when the door burst open and hands grabbed his collar and pushed him into the room. Not a second later, Mai and Lin joined him on the floor and the door slamming just before more screeching echoed through the room. Mai stood up first, her katana raised and pointed close to their attacker's neck. Or rescuer… as the soon realised.

"Wow! Calm down there! I just saved your lives here!" The voice was so familiar Mai felt her blade dip down, her jaw slack as she shone her torch towards the person.

"Monk?" She screamed, dropping her sword and lunging at him, her arms wrapping around him.

"Hey. What, what?" He removed her from his person, squinting in the darkness to look down at her before a huge grin split across his face. "Mai! Oh Kami! You made it. But, how? Is anyone else…"

"It was hard, but I made it. I found Ayako. And Naru and Lin too! Oh Monk! I thought I'd never see you again!" She felt like crying, but she knew she needed to stay calm. "What about the others that Melissa wrote about?"

"Wrote about? Mai. Is she…" A grim nod confirmed his suspicions and he sighed heavily, brushing a hand through his hair before sitting down against the barricade. "I thought as much. She's been missing for two days. The others went out yesterday and haven't come back. I'm all that's left here."

He was depressed, knowing the people he had wanted to keep safe were dead. But having his old friends with him gave him hope.

"We have the supplies. Now we can go back to the temple." Naru interjected, dropping the bag next to Monk, "Melissa didn't die in vain. She found supplies for the other survivors."

"That's great. But… The only way out of here, is back through the door." Monk said, all of them turning as one to the door that was being beaten against.

They were trapped…

They stayed in the dark storage room for hours, eerie shadows were cast against the wall as the moonlight streamed through the cracked window, wooden boards haphazardly nailed to the decaying frame. Barrels had leaked and spread their contents across the concrete floor, making it sticky and slippery. The blonde of the group had discovered that throughout his time couped up in the room that there was no way out from the window. How he survived within the night club during the whole outbreak, the group would never know. And if they didn't escape soon… they would never get the chance to find out.

"So, Naru, what're we gonna do?" The bassist hissed, cringing when there was a particularly hard 'thump' against the door. His whole body shook afterwards and he had to press himself against the storage boxes they used as barricades to keep himself pressed against the vibrating wood.

There was silence as Naru looked at the door. The second loud 'thump' made the door visibly shake within its frame, the gurgled moans becoming louder as the mass outside the room undoubtable grew larger. The longer they stayed, the more violent they became. Against his nature, his leading, narcissistic nature, that is, Naru turned to Mai, who had taken a defensive position beside the door, pressed up against the wall with her katana posed in case the door gave way. "I think… We'll leave the planning to Mai. She does have the most experience in situations like this, after all."

The slight pride in his voice was buried under the others shock at his words. He had not only praised Mai, but had given her complete control over the situation. Even while what he spoke was the truth about her experience against zombies. The silence didn't last long as another growl echoed through the room, the sound from outside carrying itself through the vents.

"Damn…" Mai whispered, whipping her head around as she took stock of everything in the room. "Monk. Do you have a weapon?" Her voice was filled with restrained panic, the desire to save the people she cared about helping her keep a level head. As it had in every situation before.

"Uh… If a guitar sounds like a weapon, then sure." He said as he grabbed the instrument. The sound of the strings hummed through the room and made the creatures outside go quiet before they returned to attacking the door with more vigour than before. Ramming, and clawing, and hitting and slamming against the wood so hard that it started splintering down the middle.

"Monk," She asked, turning away from the door and made her way to the window, "What exactly is through here?"

_**X`x`X**_

_**Thank you all so much for your support, please partake in the Q & A and I'd like to specially thank all those that reviewed. Those are the following;**_

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